Man charged in wife’s slaying at Tacoma motel

TACOMA — The man accused of killing his wife at a Tacoma motel and then asking a Seattle TV station to post his confession on Facebook has been charged with first-degree murder.

The News Tribune reports that a Superior Court commissioner entered a not guilty plea on behalf of 41-year-old Tony Barrett of Spanaway at his arraignment Monday.

Bail was set at $2 million with Barrett’s next court appearance scheduled April 25.

Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist said Barrett knew his 42-year-old estranged wife, Sara, had filed for divorce earlier this month.

The Medical Examiner’s Office says she was fatally smothered on March 13. Prosecutors allege Barrett picked his wife up from her workplace and took her to a Tacoma motel, where her body was later found.

Lindquist says Tony Barrett called KOMO-TV after the killing to confess, asking the station to post the information on its Facebook page. The station called police.

Barrett was arrested early March 14 after a high-speed chase and struggle with police. The prosecutor says the man spent several days hospitalized for treatment of K-9 bite wounds and an over-the-counter drug overdose.

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The Today File is a general news blog featuring real-time coverage of Seattle and the Northwest. It is reported by the news staff of The Seattle Times and includes stories from The Associated Press and McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.